The Observatory for the Protection
of Human Rights Defenders, a partnership of FIDH and the World Organisation
Against Torture (OMCT), has received new information and requests your urgent
intervention in the following situation in Egypt.

New information:

The Observatory has been
informed by reliable sources about the torture and ongoing arbitrary detention
of Mr. Ibrahim Metwally Hegazy,
human rights lawyer, Co-founder and Coordinator of the Association of the Families of the
Disappeared in Egypt[1].
Mr. Ibrahim Metwally Hegazy reportedly also provided legal advice to Giulio
Regeni’s family[2].

According to the
information received, on September 20, 2017, Egypt’s High State Security
Prosecution renewed the preventive detention of Mr. Ibrahim Metwally Hegazy for
15 days pending investigation. Mr. Ibrahim Metwally Hegazy is being suspected
of “founding and leading an organisation that was created illegally” (i.e. the
Association of Families of the Disappeared), “spreading false news” and
“communicating with foreign entities in order to undermine national security”.

He is currently detained
at the ‘Scorpion’ (Al-Aqrab) high security wing of Tora prison complex, in
solitary confinement, in a cell with refuse and no electricity. He is being
denied access to his lawyers and family.

In addition, during the
detention renewal hearing, Mr. Ibrahim Metwally Hegazy reported to his lawyers
that during his enforced disappearance at State Security premises between September
10 and 12, 2017, he was tortured, including by electrocution.

Mr. Ibrahim Metwally
Hegazy has been detained since September 10, 2017, when he was forcibly
disappeared at Cairo International Airport before boarding a flight to Geneva
as he was travelling in response to an invitation by the United Nations Working
Group on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances (WGEID). Mr. Ibrahim Metwally
Hegazy was held incommunicado until September 12, 2017 (see background
information).

The Observatory recalls
that Mr. Ibrahim Metwally Hegazy is not the only member of the Association of
the Families of the Disappeared who has been targeted by the Egyptian
authorities[3] as
arbitrary detentions and enforced disappearances have become common practice in
Egypt over the past few years targeting dissenting voices, including human
rights defenders.

The Observatory
expresses its utmost concern over the ongoing arbitrary detention of Mr.
Ibrahim Metwally Hegazy, and the torture and ill-treatment he has been
suffering since he was detained, as they appeared to be linked to his human
rights activities.

The Observatory is
further concerned as ‘Scorpion’ (Al-Aqrab) high security wing of Tora prison
complex, where Mr. Ibrahim Metwally Hegazy is being detained, is notorious for
its terrible conditions[4],
which puts him at risks of being further tortured.

Consequently, the
Observatory urges the Egyptian authorities to guarantee, in all circumstances,
his physical and psychological integrity and to
promptly investigate the above-mentioned allegations of torture, as well as to
immediately allow him access to his lawyer and family, release him and drop all
the charges brought against him.

Background
information:

On September 10, 2017,
Mr. Metwally Hegazy disappeared at Cairo International Airport before boarding
a flight to Geneva. Mr. Metwally Hegazy was travelling to Switzerland in
response to an invitation by the United Nations WGEID to attend the proceedings
of its 113th Session,
held from September 11 to 15, 2017 at the UN Human Rights Council.

His family lost contact
with him around 8 am after he had arrived at the airport, texting that he “was
heading to the security [forces’] office” which is near passport control. They
subsequently contacted the authorities at the Geneva airport who communicated
that the latter had not arrived on the flight from Cairo, leading them to
believe that he had been arrested at Cairo International Airport. The lawyers
of Mr. Metwally Hegazy contacted the airport police and looked for him in
nearby police stations but they were not able to obtain any information on his
whereabouts. They subsequently sent a telegram to the prosecutor general’s
office to report the suspected arrest.

The whereabouts of Mr.
Metwally Hegazy remained unknown from that date until September 12, in the
evening, when the Stop Enforced Disappearance Campaign reported he had been
located in State Security Prosecution custody, in Al-Tagammo’ al-Khamis on the
outskirts of Cairo. He was interrogated by the State Security Prosecution (SSP)
for charges of communicating with foreign entities to harm state security,
spreading false news and forming and managing a group that was formed against
the law and the constitution. During his interrogation, his home was searched
by security forces. The official invitation made by the WGEID and Mr. Hegazy’s
passport were confiscated as evidence in the criminal case No. 900/2017 opened
against him. The SSP ordered the detention of Mr. Ibrahim Metwally Hegazy for
15 days pending investigation, and sent him to the high security wing of Tora
prison complex.

Actions
requested:

Please write to the
authorities of Egypt asking them to:

i.Guarantee, in all circumstances, the physical and
psychological integrity of Mr. Ibrahim Metwally Hegazy;

ii.Immediately and unconditionally release Mr. IbrahimMetwally Hegazy as well as all human
rights defenders detained in Egypt;

iii.In the meantime, ensure that Mr. IbrahimMetwally Hegazy has full and unhindered access to his family and lawyers
and guarantee his right to due process and fair trial;

iv.Order an immediate, thorough, transparent, effective
and impartial investigation into the above-mentioned allegations of torture of
Mr. Ibrahim Metwally Hegazy in order to identify all those responsible, bring
them before an independent tribunal and apply the sanctions provided by the law
to them;

v.Put an end to all acts of harassment, including at the
judicial level, against Mr. IbrahimMetwally
Hegazy, and all members of the Association of the
Families of the Disappeared as well as against all human rights
defenders in Egypt;

vi.Conform with the provisions of the UN
Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, adopted by the General Assembly of the
United Nations on December 9, 1998, especially Articles 1, 6(c) and 12.2; and

vii.More generally, ensure in all circumstances the
respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights and with international and regional human
rights instruments ratified by Egypt.

Please also write to the diplomatic
missions or embassies of Egypt in your respective country.

***

Paris-Geneva, September
22, 2017

Kindly inform us of any
action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.

The Observatory for the
Protection of Human Rights Defenders (the Observatory) was created in 1997 by
FIDH and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT). The objective of this
programme is to intervene to prevent or remedy situations of repression against
human rights defenders. FIDH and OMCT are both members of ProtectDefenders.eu, the European Union Human Rights Defenders Mechanism
implemented by international civil society.

[1] The
organisation name in arabic is “Awqefoo el Ikhtifaa el Qasry” (Stop Enforced
Disappearances) which aims to determine the fate and whereabouts of
"disappeared" family members. Ibrahim Metwally Hegazy became an
active human rights defender working on the issue of enforced disappearances
after the disappearance of his son Amr Ibrahim Metwally, who was forcibly disappeared on July 8, 2013 and is still
missing.

[3] Fellow
Co-founder Ms. Hanan Badr El-Din Othman was arrested on May 6, 2017 and
remains in detention since that date. Mr. Islam Salameh, another lawyer who represents the forcibly
disappeared families, was arrested by the
security forces in March 2016, briefly held in incommunicado detention, and released in June 2016. Mr. Ahmed Amasha, Co-founder
of the League for Families of the Disappeared, has been detained since March
10, 2017 without trial or a formal indictment. He was also forcibly disappeared
during several days and severely tortured. See the Observatory’s Urgent Appeal EGY 003 / 0917 / OBS 099 issued
on September 13, 2017.